Update 8/25/2016: Added pages on Finding Trade Posts, Sentinels and Wanted Level, in addition to Shielding, Power, and Unstable Plasma Items. Also see my guide to Making Money in No Man's Sky for some tips on the best methods for earning cash, what crafting items are most profitable, and a list of all resources in the game.

No Man's Sky Guide

Scanning Plants and Animals to Discover Them

Discovery in No Man's Sky lets you scan plants and animals and earn credits

The Discoveries tab in the menu shows you what you've found on every planet you've visited.

No Man's Sky rewards you for being curious about the flora and fauna of a planet you're exploring. If you scan them with your multi-tool (which requires the analysis visor upgrade installed), you can earn some credits while also adding to the knowledge about that planet. Fully exploring a planet and finding all the plants and animals (and possibly waypoints) will result in a large cash bonus. If you come across an upgraded multi-tool, ensure it has the analysis visor installed, and if not, know that you can build one for 50 iron.

How to Scan Plants and Animals

Scanning plants and animals, along with other objects, is possible and will add to the completion percentage for a planet.

Look to the controls section to see which button you use to scan or zoom in to view things close up. On PC, it's 'F'. When you do this, point the targeting sights toward a plant or animal species. They should have red dots if they're not yet scanned, white if already scanned. Hold it in position and a progress meter will appear. After a couple of seconds, you'll have scanned that species. Scanning animals results in a cash prize awarded right away, while plants go toward 'completing' the planet.

The Discoveries Screen

Sell knowledge for credits in no man's sky

You can play scientist or explorer by scanning all the plants an animals that you come across.

Open the menu and look to the discoveries screen to see what you have found on the planet. Any empty slots need to be filled, some planets have many species. You can see what you've already discovered along with the animal's diet, temperament (how mean they are) etc. The Discovery Screen will also show you the completion percentage for that planet and any waypoints (where you can save) that remain undiscovered.

Uploading and Renaming Planets, Flora, and Fauna Discoveries

Also on the discoveries screen, you can rename the current star system and planets in it (if someone else has not already done so). Inappropriate system names can be reported, so consider that before you name it something vulgar.. though it may stick for a while! Uploading the planet rewards in an immediate cash bonus. Hover over the plants and animals and you'll also be able to upload them to get even more credits! If you were unaware of these things, at the very least you can go back and upload previously-visited planets. If you've scanned things before, get those free credits!

It's Too Big to Completely Explore

No Man's Sky is not a game a person can complete, let's be clear. You can do an awful lot, but you will never even get to the tip of the iceberg yourself. Discovering all the plants and animals out there, and even visiting the planets for one second is impossible to do in a human lifetime. Maybe your ancestors can pick up the slack when you 'retire', but you must have realistic goals. Maybe set out to fully explore 10 planets, or planets of different types. Some are much harder to explore than others thanks to their harsh conditions, but you can upgrade your suit to have protection against radiation and cold.

Other No Man's Sky Guides